Maharashtra Cabinet approves revised crop insurance scheme

Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Amid allegations of corruption and irregularities by the ruling MahaYuti government and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state over implementation of Rs 1 Crop Insurance Scheme, the Maharashtra Cabinet chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday, approved the implementation of a revised scheme based on crop harvesting experiments.

According to this decision, instead of providing insurance at Rs 1, it was also approved to keep the farmer's share at two per cent for Kharif, 1.5 per cent for Rabi, and five per cent for cash crops.

"At present, as per the government decision dated June 26, 2023, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has been implemented in the state for the Kharif season 2023 to Rabi season 2025-26. However, since there are complaints regarding the implementation of this scheme, changes will be made to it and a revised crop insurance scheme will now be implemented. A new tender process will be implemented while implementing this scheme. Based on the comparative information of insurance premium rates received after the tender process, the cabinet meeting approved the implementation of the scheme following the clearance of the State Level Crop Insurance Coordination Committee," said the government in a statement.

Along with this, the state Cabinet also approved the restructured weather-based fruit crop insurance scheme implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Its implementation will be done in its current form.

Meanwhile, the State Cabinet also cleared the new scheme focusing on agricultural infrastructure development by increasing capital investment in agriculture.

The scheme aims to empower farmers for environment-friendly agriculture and sustainable development of farmers.

This scheme will be implemented to increase capital investment in agriculture and create infrastructure.

For this scheme, a total provision of Rs 25,000 crore has been approved, at a rate of Rs 5,000 crore per year for the next five years.

"In order to ensure effective implementation of the scheme, the State Cabinet has approved to reserve one per cent of the sanctioned provisions for training and demonstration to farmers and related entities. It has been approved to reserve 0.1 per cent of the sanctioned provisions for the evaluation of the scheme. This evaluation will be done by a third party organisation. Preference will be given to very small, small landholders, differently-abled and women farmers in the scheme. The scheme will be implemented on a 'first come, first serve' basis by fixing district-wise objectives," the government statement added.

The financial provision for this scheme in the Budget is likely to take two to three months.

Therefore, it was approved to use the funds available in various schemes currently being implemented at the state level for the components or matters to be included in this scheme.

--IANS

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